Day 2: Touring the Alpine Tundra
10 hours after falling asleep – at 7 AM – we awoke to a beautiful, sunny morning. We felt refreshed and rejuvenated from so much quality sleep. Shane prepared espresso while we munched on Pop Tarts, cereal, and bananas for breakfast. We lounged in the morning sunlight while families awoke at neighboring campsites.
Our agenda for the day? Get some rest and relaxation. We opted to explore Rocky Mountain’s alpine tundra from the comfort of Shane’s car. While I typically hate myself when I act like a tourist, I felt no shame in our plan for the day. We had pushed our bodies to their limits the day before, so a day of easy activities sounded like a good reward.
At 9:45 AM, we packed the car and drove to Old Fall River Road, an historic, one-way gravel road that brings cars to the alpine tundra. We took several stops along the 9-mile road to take photos of overlooks, see a waterfall, and complete some short hikes. The road eventually broke through the tree line and brought us to the picturesque alpine tundra. The ecosystem is dominated by a lack of trees, rocky terrain, and unique vegetation. It covers much of Rocky Mountain National Park and offers plenty of hikes, sightseeing, and educational opportunities.
Exploring the Tundra
Once reaching the tundra, we first stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center. At 11,796 feet, it is the highest visitor center in the National Park System. So, I of course needed to get a stamp there for my national park passport book. There, we bought souvenirs, tried elk jerky, and did a quick hike to the top of a short trail.
After returning to the car, we continued down Trail Ridge Road to reach the Continental Divide at Milner Pass. There, we walked around Poudre Lake and enjoyed the fresh air on the west side of the park.
From Milner Pass, we drove back towards the Alpine Visitor Center and back to the tundra. We passed the visitor center and continued on Trail Ridge Road back to the park’s eastern side. Along the road, we stopped at the Lava Cliffs overlook and the short Rock Cut hike. Everywhere we went, I took photos as we navigated small crowds of tourists and traffic on the road.
Bear Lake: Rocky Mountain National Park’s Tourist Hub
By 3:30 PM, we’d gotten our fill of the alpine tundra and its beautiful views. We decided to head to the Bear Lake area – RMNP’s most popular hiking spot – and visit Emerald Lake. We hoped visiting late in the day would help us avoid some of the potential crowds we could encounter.
With our camping reservation, we were able to enter the Bear Lake area without a timed entry permit. Rocky Mountain National Park implemented the timed permit system in 2021 to manage crowds. The permit system is a necessary evil: it helps mitigate overcrowding problems introduced by national parks’ recent uptick in popularity, but it largely eliminates the chance to be spontaneous in visiting the parks.
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Once we reached the Bear Lake area via the NPS’s Park-and-Ride shuttle system, we discovered sizable crowds of people despite it being so late in the day. Tourists mixed with hikers mixed with occasional climbers filled the trailhead area. With so many people, the national park felt more like a Six Flags than a haven for nature. Unfortunately, those crowds were only slated to get worse as Labor Day weekend progressed…
Emerald Lake
Thankfully, we didn’t encounter too many people once we started our hike. The trail to Emerald Lake treated us to spectacular views of Longs Peak near the trailhead. The sun began to descend towards the mountains as we passed Nymph Lake and then Dream Lake. We worked our way towards the valley in which Emerald Lake sits, passing other late-afternoon hikers.
When we reached Emerald Lake’s east shore at 5 PM, it was void of visitors. Shane and I had the lake entirely to ourselves. A nearby waterfall, bird chirps, and the occasional “eek!” from hidden pikas were the only sounds that we could hear.
Determined to swim in the lake – away from the main trail – we worked our way around the lake’s north shore. We hopped across boulders to reach a quiet spot tucked away among the trees. Our timing was impeccable: more hikers had appeared on the east shore when we looked back. As with Chasm Lake, we stripped down to our boxer briefs and took turns jumping into the frigid water. Emerald Lake’s water was slightly warmer than Chasm Lake’s, so we mustered up the courage to swim several strokes into the lake’s depths. After being in the water for only thirty seconds, however, we could already feel our extremities going numb. So, we opted against anything more than a quick swim.
While we dried off, we watched a group of feeding ducks swim by the rock we were perched on. They aggressively gobbled up bugs and algae in a manner resembling a group of street cleaners.
Bear Lake
After reequipping our clothes, we returned to Emerald Lake’s east shore – crowded with hikers once more – and nabbed a few photos. The sun had disappeared behind Flattop Mountain, creating a beautiful glow over the lake.
It only took us about 30 minutes to get back to the Emerald Lake trailhead. Before hopping on the bus, we decided to complete the short half-mile loop around Bear Lake. Since this lake sits just a few hundred feet from the shuttle stop, it’s a popular destination for those in the area. So, I wasn’t surprised to find the lake brimming with tourists, even though it was already 6 PM. The lake had a couple of nice views – particularly one with Longs Peak in the distance – but it was far less impressive than any of the three lakes we had just seen. The abundance of tourists detracted from the experience as well. At least we accrued some extra mileage.
When we returned to the campsite and began making dinner, I found that – according to my phone’s pedometer – we had hiked/walked nearly 10 miles throughout the day. Despite deciding to take a rest day, we had still managed to hike quite a bit. Not bad at all!
We concluded Day 2 with a camp-friendly Mexican-style meal and with card games & drinks enjoyed with a family at a nearby campsite. The night sky twinkled brilliantly with stars when we finally turned in around 11 PM.
